


A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

by Animechick247



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 08:40:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26849083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animechick247/pseuds/Animechick247
Summary: Everyone always wonders how their parents met. Well, this is the story of how mine met. Follow the story of when Rufus Shinra would meet the one who would change everything for him. RufusxOc, TsengxOc
Relationships: Rufus Shinra/Original Female Character(s), Tseng/Original Female Characters
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I shouldn’t be writing another story when I’m still in the middle of writing other stories, but I just couldn’t get this idea out of my head. After beating Final Fantasy 7 Remake, I couldn’t get Rufus’s new look out of my head. So here I am writing a story about him.**

**This is going to be my first time writing a ‘mature’ story so go easy on me lol.**

**Anyway, lets get on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy 7; I just own my OC’s.**

**Enjoy!**

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

**_You’ll probably laugh if I tell you, or maybe you’ll think this is a fairytale. None of this could possibly be true. I mean…how could it?_ **

**_This is the story of my parents._ **

**_And it’s true, every word of it._ **

Lana suppressed a groan as the morning light hit her face. Slowly getting out of bed, she stumbled towards her bedroom window and pulled back the curtains. The sight before her wasn’t breathtaking, but it was comforting to her.

Sector 4 Slums wasn’t paradise. Hell, it couldn’t even be considered a place. Nothing grew down here, the air wasn’t fresh, and the buildings were made of scraps that the upper plate tossed away. Yet, despite all that, Lana felt content when she looked at the tiny town. 

People on the upper plate saw beggars and criminals, she saw humble, hardworking people. They all made do with that they had and tried to make a decent life here in the slums. That was the mindset Lana grew up with at least.

Pulling herself away from the window, she headed for the bathroom so she could get ready for the day.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The news blasted on the TV as Lana ate her breakfast. Everything from the weather to how Shinra was planning to improve Midgar was mentioned. And speaking of Shinra, the hottest gossip was about how Vice-President Rufus Shinra broke up with his latest girlfriend.

Millie, Lana’s roommate just made a face as she drank her coffee.

“Why is it such a big deal that a rich boy broke up with his latest gold-digging girlfriend? Is Midgar that desperate for news?”

Lana just shrugged as she ate her food.

“He’s the son of the wealthiest man in Midgar. He’s pretty much a prince” she replied.

Millie just rolled her eyes.

“Still doesn’t explain why they make it a big deal. If he wants to be a man whore and screw half the town, then let him. No need to broadcast it”

Lana just sighed at Millie’s blunt response. Another thing about living in the slums was that there was no need to filter your words.

Millie finished the last of her coffee and slammed the cup onto the table.

“So, you gonna ask your boss about getting that promotion?”

Lana paused from eating. Her face heated up a bit as she quickly shook her head.

“No, not yet” she quietly replied.

Millie groaned and glared at her.

“Oh, come on! You always say that! Why do you keep pushing it back?”

“Well, we’re going to be catering for Madam Scarlett’s upcoming event, so everyone’s mind is focused on that right now”

“But that’s the prefect time to say something!” Millie insisted.

“If you show off one of your signature creations for something like that you would be bound to move up in your position!”

Lana shook her head as she picked up her dirty dishes and brought them to the sink.

“I doubt someone from the slums could ever make it to the top” she said.

She noticed the time and quickly grabbed her messenger bag.

“I’m off. I’ll see you when my shift is over”

“Have a good day. And make sure to spit in Vivian’s food” Millie called out.

Lana rushed through the streets to reach the train station. Now while she didn’t mind living in the slums, she wasn’t a fan of the limited jobs that were available. Being the underbelly of such a big city, not a lot of decent jobs were offered. There were the small family owned shops that sold stuff to citizens of the slums, but the big ‘money makers’ around here were scrap collectors and the patrol men. Or if a girl was desperate, she could find something in Wall Market in Sector 6. Since she didn’t feel like risking her life or being hit on by perverted men, Lana did the logical thing and found a job on the upper plate.

Reaching the train on time, she hopped on before the doors closed. As the train started, she took a seat and slumped into the cushion. She had about ten minutes until they reached the upper part of Midgar. Ten minutes to herself.

She noticed a few other people were in the same compartment as her. Like her, they were heading to work as well. One of two individuals were wearing nice business suits and carrying briefcases.

 _‘Probably going to Shinra’_ she thought.

Everyone on Gaia knew about Shinra. They created the best weapons known to man, originated the concept of Materia and most importantly were able to create an energy source for everyone thanks to Mako energy. Basically, without Shinra, people couldn’t go about with their daily lives. While the company did a lot of good for people, there were some groups who thought otherwise and felt Shinra caused more harm than good.

Lana tried not to get involved with those kinds of things. It didn’t matter what you thought, there was going to be someone who thought differently from you. The same went for large companies.

_‘Besides, I have nothing to do with Shinra so why should I be angry over something out of my control?’_

The train came to a stop in the Upper section of sector 2. Getting up from her seat, she hurried out of the station and entered the streets of the upper part of Midgar. While the slums weren’t considered paradise, this part of the city was. The air was fresh, the buildings were new and plant life grew. Basically, it was the exact opposite of the slums. If she wasn’t running late, Lana would have taken the time to admire the view. But alas, work came first.

Rushing down the street, she headed towards a café. The Golden Rose was one of the poshest places Midgar had to offer. The higher ups of Shinra tended to dine here which made it one of the go to places of the city.

Lana acted as one of the chefs. Here, her job was to create dishes that only the rich could afford.

As she entered the kitchens, she was hit with the sound of an annoying voice.

“Ugh, there you are. What took you so long? I thought I was going to have to work by myself”

Lana suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at her coworker.

“I swear, you slum rats are so lazy. I don’t know how you even got a job here in the first place”

Vivian was your typical rich snob. While Lana worked hard to get her position here at the Golden Rose, Vivian just had her father pull some strings. She never really bothered to work or create anything unless it was for a very important guest. All she ever did was sit around doing nothing and boss the other cooks around. All in all, she acted like she was a gift from god and that you were lucky to be in her presence. Lana just ignored her. She didn’t have the time or energy to argue with a clueless airhead anyway.

The café’s owner hurried into the kitchens with a list in hand.

“Alright, everyone, listen up! We have a busy day ahead of us. Lunch rush is almost upon us so we’re gonna be swamped. And then later I need to discuss menu idea’s for Madam Scarlett’s upcoming banquet. This is one of Shinra’s top brass, so we need to offer her the best of the best”

Vivian smiled as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“Its obvious it’ll consist most of my dishes. Once they’ve eaten my creations, they’ll be begging me to serve all their events”

Lana rolled her eyes at that.

 _‘They want you to feed them not poison them’_ she resisted to say.

“We’ll talk about ideas later. For now, let’s focus on feeding those hungry customers. Back to work” the owner said.

Lana went to her station and started preparing meals.

**_Cooking was mom’s special talent. She could turn anything into a work of art. Heck, she could turn even a simple sandwich into a five-star meal. I think that’s the reason why dad refused to eat out anywhere, because no one could top mom’s work._ **

As lunch time rolled around, Lana was speeding around her station trying to get meals out to her hungry customers. It was usually around this time that employees of Shinra would be taking their lunch break, so she tried to make sure her food was extra good. If they had a fulfilling meal that meant they would work hard at their job. If they worked hard, that meant Shinra would be able to improve Midgar. And with that improvement, it meant a better way of living for the people who lived in the city. It was one big circle that ran on food.

 _‘And I’m the one that makes it spin’_ she thought.

“So, Lana, you gonna use one of your signature dishes for Scarlet banquet?” one of her coworkers asked.

Lana shrugged as she added the last touches to a fillet she just prepared.

“Maybe. I don’t even know which one of my dishes would work. I know Scarlet has a specific taste when it comes to regarding her”

“Oh please, as if they’d want to eat slum food” Vivian said.

“Not everyone enjoys eating rats you know”

Lana’s fingers turned white as she gripped the knife she was holding. For some reason, Vivian seemed to target her the most with her petty insults and harassment. Just because she grew up in the slums didn’t mean she was less of a person.

Before she could stab Vivian, one of the waitresses hurried into the kitchen looking for her.

“Hey, Lana, one of the customers wanted to talk to you about the order you made”

Vivian wore a nasty smirk as she went about making her dish.

“Guess they didn’t like being served slum food”

Lana sighed and headed for the main floor. As she passed Vivian’s station, she ‘accidentally’ bumped into the stove and set the burner higher than it should be.

She followed the waitress to where the customer was. As she reached the table, a playful smirk appeared on her lips.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Reeve Tuesti”

Reeve oversaw the Urban Development Program at Shinra. Since he was in charge of trying to make life in the slums a better place, the people of the lower plate respected him. It was also thanks to him that Lana even had a job at the Golden Rose.

“Afternoon, Lana. I really enjoyed my meal and I just had to thank the chef” Reeve said.

Lana rolled her eyes playfully and put her hands on her hips.

“You do this every time you dine here. One of these days I’ll have to make something bad just to see if you’re really lying or not”

Reeve laughed at that.

“I honestly doubt you’re capable of ruining anything you create. I remember how you were able to save that burnt roast and turned it into an edible dish”

“First rule about living in the slums is to not waste anything” Lana said proudly.

Reeve’s smiled dimmed at that. He knew all too well what it was like to live down there.

“So how is everything? I heard that the Golden Rose is going to cater to Scarlet banquet”

“That’s what we’ve been told. It hasn’t been decided who’s going to oversee it or who’s going to make what”

“I hope to see one of your dishes on the menu. You would be sure to impress Scarlet with your talent”

Lana laughed nervously. Her low confidence starting to creep back.

“I have a feeling she’s really particular when it comes to her food. She’s a make it or break it kind of person and I’d rather not be on the break it end” she said.

“Have a little more confidence if yourself, Lana” Reeve insisted.

“Catering for a Shinra event is a once in a lifetime thing. I know you have a gift. Use this chance to show it to everyone”

Lana gripped her apron tightly. If only it was easy to think that way.

“I don’t think…”

The sound of shrieking coming from the kitchen caught her attention.

“I better head back. Don’t want the place to burn down” she said.

“It was good to see you again, Reeve. I’m glad you enjoyed the meal”

Reeve gave a small wave.

“Think about what I said Lana”

Lana went back into the kitchen to see Vivian’s food going up in flames. It seemed she didn’t pay attention to the heat going up when Lana ‘bumped’ into it.

_‘Serves you right’_

She thought about what Reeve said. Maybe he was right? Maybe catering to Shinra would be her big break? She quickly pushed the idea away as soon as it entered her mind. Shinra was a multimillion Gil company. They always looked for the best of the best. No way would they sully their name by letting a chef from the slums cater to them.

_‘What could someone like me have to offer to the likes of Shinra?’_

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

**_Dad was a bit of a troublemaker when he was younger. Mom seems to think I inherited that trait from him, but dad denies it. I think the reason he always acted out was because he was lonely. And considering who my grandpa was, I’m not surprised. Owning a big company tends to make you feel small sometimes._ **

Being President Shinra’s son was curse rather than a blessing. Sure, you’re the richest man in the world, but that also meant you’re the most sought out man too. Ever since he was born, Rufus’s life was in the media. From what he wore to who he was seeing, everyone knew about it. His life was like a glass house. That’s why when word got out that he broke up with his latest girlfriend, everyone was talking about it. How long had they been dating? What was the reason for the breakup? Who broke up with who? It was never ending.

And of course, if the people of Midgar knew, then that meant his father knew. President Shinra had an image to uphold so that meant if his son was doing something stupid that would ruin his image, he was going to make sure it didn’t continue. Screw his son’s feelings, he had a business to run.

That was pretty much how their phone conversation went as Rufus was on the phone with his father.

 **“This is the seventh girlfriend you’ve broken up with in the last two months!”** the president snapped.

Rufus resisted the urge to give a snappy response. The sooner he got off the phone with him the better.

**“Do you have any idea how much money I had to pay the tabloids to keep quiet about it?”**

“Obviously not a whole lot since they broadcast it anyway” Rufus couldn’t help but say.

That was one of the many reasons why he hated his father. He always felt like if he could bribe anyone with money, things would always go his way.

**“Damnit Rufus! Do you have any idea how bad this is making me look? I worked hard and slaved away to make this company to what it is today. All these stupid stunts you pull make the company and myself look bad!”**

Rufus gripped the phone tightly in his hand to the point that it almost broke. Of course, his father cared more for his image than his son’s wellbeing. He didn’t care who was suffering, as long as he was making money that’s all that mattered to him.

“Oh, trust me. Shinra was looking bad without my help” he snapped.

“You have yourself to thank for that”

**“What the hell do you mean by that? I do everything that I can to make Shinra look important”**

“Well maybe next time when you pay the tabloids to be quiet, you should pay my ex as well. She was the one who went to the tabloids after I found her in bed with you. Obviously, you don’t care about your image that much”

He slammed the phone back on the receiver and held the bridge of his nose.

He was mad at his father, but he was also mad at himself. He knew his latest girlfriend was only with him for his family’s money, and that was one of the reasons he dated her. If he dated tasteless women, then it would make his father look bad. He knew that but it felt horrible in the end. Why put himself through this just to get back at his father?

He sighed as he drowned himself in his paperwork.

Being President Shinra’s son was a curse. And no one would change that.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

As the lunch rush died down and it started to get closer to the evening, Lana found her workload to ease up a bit. Around this time everyone would be heading home after a long day at work. The café wasn’t as busy in the evening unless one of the big wigs from Shinra decided to have dinner there.

This was the perfect time for Lana to clean up her station and figure out what she was going to make for the next day. Everyday the chefs were allowed to create a new dish for the day and serve as the café’s special. It was a great way to bring customers in and for the chefs to show off their creativity.

Vivian as usual was just sitting around doing nothing while someone else cleaned up her station. She was currently reading todays paper which talked about Rufus Shinra’s latest breakup.

“Can you believe that whore would cheat on someone as handsome as him? If I were dating him, you bet I would only have eyes for him. Smart, rich and handsome, that’s what every girl wants”

“He just broke up with an airhead, I seriously doubt he’d want to date another one, Vivian” Lana said.

Vivian glared daggers at her and rolled up her newspaper.

“You shut your mouth! Its obvious that he’s just haven’t found the right woman yet”

“And you think that’s you?” Lana asked.

Vivian huffed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t he want to be with someone like me?”

“How much time do you have? I have a list that could take a while to read off” Lana retorted.

Vivian growled and marched over to her.

“Don’t act all high and mighty with me, rat. At the end of the day, I get to live in luxury in my nice home with clean air to breath while you? You just get to crawl back into that dirty little hole you call the slums and live like the rat that you are”

Before Lana knew what, she was doing, she backhanded Vivian across the face. She could only handle her insults for so much and she had enough.

Vivian let out a cry as she held her face.

“You little bitch”

She quickly ran out of the kitchen to grab their manager.

“Jeremy! Jeremy, Lana just struck me for no reason!” she cried.

Jeremy glared at Lana. Sadly, Vivian had him wrapped around her little finger. It was one of the few reasons she wasn’t fired already.

“We do not hit coworkers, Lana. You should know better!” he snapped.

He didn’t see that Vivian wore a smug look on her face as Lana was getting chewed out.

“I didn’t do it for no reason! She was harassing me and- “

“I don’t want your excuses” Jeremy interrupted.

“You don’t hit anyone regardless of the situation. Stuff like this could get you fired”

Lana bit her lip at that. She couldn’t lose this job. Not when it was so hard to get a job up here in the first place.

Jeremy studied her for a moment and sighed. It was a long day and he was tried.

“You’re getting off with a warning this time. I should fire you, but you’re a really good cook and we need that here at the Golden Rose”

Lana let out a tiny sigh with relief.

“However, you’re not getting out of being punished. You’re staying after we close and cleaning the kitchen as punishment”

Lana wanted to protest but she knew it was a bad idea. She was on thin ice right now and she didn’t need to make it worse.

“Yes sir”

Jeremy nodded and looked at Vivian.

“You can take the rest of the day off Vivian. Lana will cover your shift”

Vivian smiled brightly and skipped past Lana.

“Know your place, rat” she whispered as she passed by.

Lana just hung her head and slowly made her way to the kitchen where she was about to have a long night.

**_It was a good thing mom got in trouble that day. If she hadn’t stayed late at her job, she wouldn’t have met dad. And if she hadn’t met dad, I wouldn’t have a story to tell._ **

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

A piano played in the background at the fancy bar Rufus was currently at. After a long day at work, he deiced he need to unwind and have a drink. He was supposed to have a dinner with his father and a few prime ministers who were in the talks about working with Shinra, but he decided to skip out on it. He was his father’s puppet from 9-5, after that he did whatever he wanted. And right now, all he wanted to do was get drunk on the greatest scotch that money could buy.

He saw a couple of women at the other end of the bar looking at him and talking amongst themselves. No doubt trying to see if they could try to flirt with him.

_‘Get in line ladies’_

His phone went off in his jacket. Pulling the damn thing out, he saw that he got a text from his ex

**‘You son of a bitch, you ruined me!’**

Rufus rolled his eyes at the message.

**“** I did nothing. That was all on you my dear”

His phone vibrated once again as he got a response.

**“You’re gonna pay for humiliating me like that”**

“What? You mean my father didn’t pay you enough to keep quiet? Guess you weren’t that great then”

**“Just you wait, you’re going to be sorry you ever messed with me”**

“Be sure to tell that to my other exes. We’re done so stop calling me”

He put his phone down and finished off the last of his drink. Maybe it was a bad idea to keep dating these bimbos. Sure, it made his father look bad, but it gave him a headache every time he broke up with one. They were able to get their five minutes of fame by dating him, what more could they want?

His phone went off again, signaling that someone was calling him.

“God that woman is persistent”

He picked it up, and was about to hit ignore, but when he saw who it was, he quickly answered.

 **“’Hey, Ru. How are you?”** a female voice answered.

Rufus smiled a little when he heard that voice.

“Evening Elle”

 **“I saw the articles in the paper today and I wanted to make sure you’re ok** ”

“I’m fine. This isn’t my first breakup you know”

**“I know but I still worry about you. Girls can get nasty during a breakup. How mad was father when he found out?”**

“He just gave me the whole ‘you’re ruining my image’ speech. Nothing new really”

The woman on the phone sighed.

“ **Why do you keep pulling these stunts? Surely there’s other ways you get to annoy dad that doesn’t involve toying with other people’s emotions”**

“Perhaps but considering that’s what father does on a daily basis, I thought it was best to throw it back in his face”

**“You shouldn’t focus on making dad angry. He’s a miserable person to begin with, so you’re just wasting your time and sanity. You should focus on being happy and being with someone nice instead”**

Rufus scoffed as he took a sip of his drink.

“We’re Shinra, Ella. People won’t see us for us. They’ll only see us for our status and wealth. That’s what they’re always after”

 **“That’s not true and you know it”** Elle scolded.

**“You just haven’t found your perfect someone like I have. They’re out there, you’re just not looking hard enough”**

“Maybe I don’t want to find them” Rufus countered.

Elle just sighed again.

**‘It’s ok to be happy Ru. I know that’s a far-fetched idea, but it is possible”**

“I am happy, Elle. Making father miserable is my source of happiness”

**“That can only get you so far, Ru. I guess I’m not getting to you today, so I won’t push it any further but just remember there are other ways to be happy that are less destructive”**

“Thank you for your kind input, Elle” Rufus said flatly.

**“I’ll talk to you later, Ru. And be careful. Like I said exes can get crazy after breakup”**

“I’ll be fine. Now good night”

He hung up the phone and dropped it on the table.

“Sisters” he muttered.

He downed the last of his drink and decided to call it a night. He was tempted to get super drunk, but he didn’t feel like arguing with his father while he had a hangover.

Paying for his drink, he left the bar to go home. Stepping outside, he felt the fresh, cool air hit his face. He looked up at the sky to see the stars shining tonight. The smog from the reactors were low tonight, which was a lucky treat for those whole liked to star gaze.

He didn’t realize that while he was looking up at the sky, someone was sneaking up behind him. He went for his phone to call Tseng when he felt a searing pain in his side. Looking down, he saw a knife jabbed into his side, staining his white suit red with his blood. The owner of the knife was none other than his ex. The woman had a crazy look to her eyes as she twisted the knife in.

“I told you, you’d be sorry, you bastard!” she spat.

Rufus grunted in pain and quickly grabbed a military grade Materia he kept on him at all times. Using the lighting Materia, he zapped his ex and was able to stun her. Pulling the knife out, he quickly took off before she came too and tried to stab him again.

He clutched his side as it continued to bleed. He had to get somewhere safe so he could call Tseng for help. He just hoped he didn’t bleed out by then.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Once closing time came to the Golden Rose, Lana spent the night cleaning up the kitchen and making sure everything was all set for tomorrow. She would have been done sooner if it wasn’t for Vivian making a mess of her station before she left for the day.

“Stupid Vivian and her stupid attitude”

She gathered up the bags of garbage and brought them to the back alley to throw them in the dumpster.

“Rich people are so wasteful. Don’t they realize that all this food could have feed pretty much everyone down in the slums?”

But what did she know? She was a slum rat. She didn’t have the mindset of a rich person.

She threw the last of the garbage in the dumpster when someone stumbled into the alley. Lana screamed and pulled out the kitchen knife she kept on her whenever she closed. The sight before her was not what she expected.

Rufus leaned against the wall as he held his side. His whole hand was covered with blood at this point. Feeling faint from the blood loss, he slowly sat on the ground and tried to catch his breath.

Lana slowly lowered her knife when she saw the condition Rufus was in.

“You alright, Mister?”

Rufus let out a staggering breath as he slowly looked up at Lana.

**_That was the day that mom and dad’s lives changed forever. This is the story of my parents._ **

**_And it’s true. Every word of it._ **

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

**A/N: And there you have it! What do you think so far? It was tricky trying to keep Rufus in character, but I think I did a decent job.**

**What do you think of Lana? She may not seem like much now but wait until the story progresses. And should I keep the narrator part in? I feel like it adds more depth to the story.**

**Hopefully this is the beginning of an amazing adventure!**

**I hope you all enjoyed it!**

**Take care!**

****

****


	2. How we met

Chapter 2: How We Met  
A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the favs and reviews! It really made my day when I saw it lol. Hopefully this means you wanna see more of this story. Well let’s get to it! I’m sure you want to know how Rufus and Lana’s first meeting will be like!  
This chapter is going to be a bit shorter than the previous one but mainly because I didn’t want to stretch this scene out too much. 

Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc’s.

Enjoy!

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Dad was always embarrassed when he recalled how he first met mom. I’m sure he was expecting it to be something romantic like spotting her out in a crowd of people instead of being found bleeding in an alleyway. Either way their meeting was one no one would ever forget.

Lana quickly put away her knife when she saw the blood staining Rufus’s hand and shirt. Pulling off her apron, she hurried over to him and pressed the fabric over the bleeding wound. Rufus hissed at the contact but didn’t push her away. He needed to get ahold of Tseng before anyone else found out that he got injured. Lana frowned when she saw her white apron quickly turning red.   
“This is really bad. I don’t think the bleeding is going to stop on its own”  
She replaced her hand with Rufus’s and got up.  
“Let me call an ambulance. You need medical help”  
Before she could move to head back inside, Rufus snatched her wrist and stopped her.  
“No! No ambulance!” he said quickly.   
He couldn’t go to a hospital. If word got out that the heir to the Shinra company was badly injured, it would cause chaos.  
Lana just made a face at Rufus.   
“You’re bleeding out in an alleyway, what do you mean no ambulance?!” she snapped.  
Rufus just groaned and rest his head against the wall. He had never been stabbed before and so far, he was not enjoying the pain he was in. Lana could sense how much pain he was in and pulled her hand away. She went to head back inside but Rufus snatched her wrist again and gave it a harsh squeeze.  
“I said no ambulance” he snapped.  
Lana glared at him and snatched her hand back.   
“Stop being such a baby and let me try to help you!” she snapped.  
“If I don’t call for help, you’re gonna bleed to death in some random alleyway in Sector 2. Is that really how you want to die?”  
Rufus looked at her strangely. Didn’t this woman know who he was? If anyone else was in her position they would be jumping for joy at the prospect of saving the son of the richest man in the world.  
Lana turned on her heels and started walking back to the café.  
“I’m calling for help and that’s final”  
Groaning, Rufus got up to his feet and leaned against the wall.  
“Wait”  
Digging into his jacket, he pulled out his cell phone.  
“Don’t call an ambulance. Use my phone to call someone named Tseng. He’ll be able to help me”  
Lana raised an eyebrow skeptically.  
“Is this Tseng guy a medical friend?”   
“Something like that”   
He didn’t want to say that Tseng was a Turk, but it was better if he got help from him then going to a hospital. Lana just stared at him for a moment then sighed and held her hand out.   
“Fine, I’ll call him. But if he tells me to take you to the hospital, you’re going”  
“Trust me, he wouldn’t do that unless it was absolutely necessary” Rufus said as he handed her the phone.  
“And bleeding out on the streets isn’t considered necessary?” Lana asked flatly.  
She scrolled through his phone until she found Tseng’s name. Hitting the name, she held the phone to her ear and waited for Tseng to pick up.  
The Turk answered after the first ring.  
“Sir?”  
“Hi, is this Tseng?” Lana asked sheepishly.  
“Yes. Who is this? And how do you have this phone?”  
“My name is Lana. I found your friend bleeding out behind the Golden Rose café in Sector 2 and he insisted that I call you instead of doing the logical thing and calling an ambulance”  
“What?! Is he alright?’  
“He is now, but if I don’t get him medical help soon, he won’t be. If you can just call an ambulance that would be- “  
“No need, I’m on my way. Golden Rose in Sector 2 correct?”  
“Wha- I mean yes, that’s where we are but you should- “  
“I’ll be there shortly”  
“Wait don’t hang up!” Lana cried.  
The line went dead, signaling Tseng got off the phone. Lana hung her head, silently cursing her bad luck. She lifted her head when she saw Rufus slowly moving away.   
“Oh no, no, no!”  
She hurried over to him and forced him to sit on the ground.   
“You sit your ass back down. You lost too much blood and you’re gonna pass out if you move around”  
Rufus gave her a tired glare but sat on the ground. Lana crouched to the ground and inspected his injury.  
“The bleeding isn’t letting up still” she groaned.  
She quickly rummaged into her pockets and pulled out a cure Materia.   
“Hold onto this. It won’t stop the bleeding, but it should slow it down to where you’re not losing a lot”  
Rufus weakly grabbed the Materia and pressed it against the stab wound. He could instantly feel the orb doing its work as it slowed the bleeding down. Lana seemed satisfied as she saw the bleeding become less.  
“That should hold you over until your friend gets here” she said.  
Rufus just propped his head against the wall and sighed. What a day he was having. It started off with his father chewing him out about causing a scene and making the company look bad to ending with him being stabbed by an exe girlfriend.  
“Elle was right. Exes are dangerous” he thought.   
He looked over at Lana tiredly. She was trying to save him and didn’t seem bothered that he was being rude to her.   
“I apologize for my behavior before. I know you’re trying to help me, and I appreciate that”  
Lana just waved him off as she kept checking his injury.  
“Don’t worry about it. You got stabbed and were probably scared by it. I am surprised though that something like a stabbing would happen on the Upper plates. Usually that happens in the Slums”  
Rufus raised an eyebrow at that.  
“You’re from the Slums?” he asked.  
Lana nodded, not bothering to look up at him. She had a feeling that Rufus was going to be disgusted finding out that someone who was beneath him had helped him. She didn’t need to see the look of shock on his face when he realized he was saved by a Slum Rat.   
Rufus was shocked but not because he was disgusted. He knew people of the Slums hated his father. It was thanks to him that they were living in poverty while he was living in luxury. If they knew that the president’s son was badly injured, they would have finished the job and killed him.   
Surely Lana knew this so why was she trying so hard to help him?  
“If you’re from the Slums why are you trying to help me?” he couldn’t help but asked.  
Lana slowly looked at him with a puzzled look on her face.  
“Because you’re bleeding?” she said slowly.  
Now it was Rufus’s turn to raise an eyebrow.  
“Don’t you know who I am?”   
Lana made a face when he said that.  
“Obviously someone not important if you’re using the ‘Do you know who I am’ card” she said dryly.  
“Excuse me?”  
Lana rolled her eyes. In annoyance.  
“Oh, come on. Everyone knows if you say, ‘Do you know who I am?’ You’re trying to make others think that you’re important and special when in reality you’re not but you just want people to think that you are”  
Rufus looked baffled at Lana’s explanation. She lived in the Slums and worked on the Upper Plate, yet she didn’t know who he was? That couldn’t be right.  
“Surely you’ve seen my face before” he insisted.  
Lana looked at his face but really couldn’t see it properly. He did look familiar but since it was dark out, she couldn’t tell where she saw his face before.  
“I see a lot of people at my job so maybe you’re one of my customers” she just shrugged.   
Rufus just started at this strange woman in shock.

I think mom not knowing who dad was right away hurt him a lot more than being stabbed. You can heal the body easily but not a man’s pride.

Lana snickered at Rufus’s expression.   
“What’s the matter? Chocobo got your tongue?”   
Rufus quickly shut his mouth. He looked away so Lana wouldn’t see that he was blushing. This was absurd. He was Rufus Shinra, heir to the Shinra company. Everyone knew who he was and yet this tiny little slum girl had no idea she was sitting next to the second wealthiest man in the world.   
Lana just patted his shoulder. She always found it funny when a man’s pride was sabotaged over something silly as not being big and famous.  
“Don’t feel bad. Just because you’re not big and famous doesn’t mean you’re not important”   
Rufus gave Lana a withering glare. He felt bad that he was being rude to her earlier but now he was starting to take those feelings back.  
“Why you insolent little- “  
They were both slightly blinded by a set of car lights that appeared in the alleyway. Moments later, Tseng sprang from the car and rushed towards them.  
“Sir!”   
Lana stood up and face the Turk when he reached them.  
“I take it you’re Tseng?”   
Tseng nodded, eyeing Lana questionably.  
“I am. I take it you’re the one I was on the phone with?”  
“That would be me” Lana said tiredly.  
“I was able to stop the bleeding a bit with a Cure Materia but he’s gonna need professional medical help to seal up the wound. Your friend keeps insisting he doesn’t need to go to the hospital but I’m gonna chalk it up as he doesn’t know what he’s talking about due to blood loss”  
“Hey!” Rufus snapped.  
Lana whipped her head around and glared at him.  
“Shut up! You’re in no position to be arguing with me right now” she retorted.  
She turned back to Tseng and gave him a sweet smile.  
“Since he won’t listen to me, I’m sure he’ll listen to you. I know people hate going to the doctors, but your friend is being childish”  
Tseng simply raised an eyebrow at this strange woman. Did she have no idea who she just saved? He mentally shook his head. He didn’t have time for this. His boss was bleeding and needed to be healed.  
“I’ll get him taken care of. Thank you for calling me and helping him until I got here”  
He quickly went over to Rufus and helped him up to his feet.  
“Let’s go, Sir. I informed your personal doctor what happened, and he’ll be waiting for us at the manor”   
With Lana’s help, they were able to get him in the back of the car. Rufus groaned as he was moved around but relaxed when he sat down. He knew it was going to be a bitch getting the blood off the seats, but he really didn’t care at this point. He wasn’t sitting on the hard ground.   
Tseng went over to Lana when he made sure Rufus was secured inside.   
“Thank you again for helping him”  
“It’s no problem. I just did what anyone else would do” Lana said.  
“Oh, I highly doubt that” Tseng thought.  
Lana looked at Rufus and gave him a small smile.  
“You get better, alright buddy?”   
“My name’s not buddy” Rufus snapped.  
Lana snickered shrugged sheepishly.  
“You never gave me your name so what else was I supposed to call you?” she joked.  
An idea sprang to Rufus’s mind when he heard that. It annoyed him that she didn’t know who he was or acted like he wasn’t important. Since she stabbed his pride it was time to return the favor.  
“That’s right. I never did give you my name”  
Tseng’s eyes went wide. He knew was his boss was doing and knew it was a horrible idea. The fact that Lana had no idea who she saved worked heavily in their favor. She couldn’t go to the press with it, and no one would no that the heir to the Shinra Electric Power Company had almost died. This was perfect.  
“Sir, I don’t think- “  
Rufus waved him off and looked Lana dead in the eye.  
“You really want to know my name?” he asked.  
Lana looked puzzled. Why did the man insisted she know who he was?   
“I mean sure, if you’re that desperate in telling me” she said.  
Rufus wore a shit eating grin as he looked at her. Payback time.  
“Rufus Shinra”  
Just as he expected, Lana went from smug and sweet to shocked and horrified. The color drained from her face when she realized why Rufus looked so familiar. He was all over the news today! 

When mom talked about how she met dad she would always say she had no idea what horrified her the most. The fact that dad almost bleed to death in front of her or that she had no idea who he was.

Feeling satisfied, Rufus turned to Tseng.   
“Let’s go, Tseng. I don’t want to die in the back of one of my father’s cars. There are more dignified places to die at”  
Tseng quickly nodded and hurried over to the car. Without so much as saying a goodbye, the two men left leaving Lana alone in the alleyway.  
The night’s events came crashing down on her and caused her to fall on her knees in shock. She just helped Rufus Shinra. Midgar’s most eligible bachelor was bleeding right in front of her and she didn’t even realize it!   
“Oh, Gaia what did I just get myself into?” she asked herself.  
She quickly shook her head.  
“Get ahold of yourself Lana. This was just a random encounter. You were just being a good person and helped a poor man out…a man that happened to be the son of President Shinra”  
She bit her lip as she walked in circles.   
“Just relax. He’s the richest man in the world, and you’re just a girl from the Slums. There’s no way you’ll ever see him again” she said quietly.  
That should have been the case, but it seems that the fates had other plans in mind. This was the first of many encounters she would have with the man who would end up being her husband.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
A/N: Woo Hoo they finally met! I hope their first interaction wasn’t too cheesy or cliché. Now that Lana knows who she saved, what’s gonna happen next? Will she keep quiet about it? Will Rufus keep quiet about it? Guess we won’t know until next time lol.

Please review and tell me what you think!   
Take care!


End file.
